I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a friction pad for use with a window stabilizer of a motor vehicle.
II. Description of the Prior Art
Many types of motor vehicles include one or more windows which are slidably mounted within a panel of the vehicle. For example, in a passenger car, the side window is conventionally slidably mounted within the door panel and movable between a raised or closed position and a lowered or open position.
In order to prevent rattling of the window within its associated vehicle panel, many previously known motor vehicles utilize window stabilizers mounted within the interior of the vehicle panel. These window stabilizers conventionally include one or more faces which engage a side of the window. In order to prevent scratching of the window as well as noise during opening and closing of the window, a friction pad is mounted on the face of the window stabilizer so that the friction pad, rather than the stabilizer, frictionally engages the window. By so engaging the window, the stabilizer with its attached friction pad prevents undesirable rattling of the window within its associated vehicle panel.
These previously known friction pads typically comprised an elongated strip of thin plastic material having an adhesive on both sides. Nylon bristles are then secured to the housing on one side of the strip while the other side of the strip is adhesively secured to the face of the window stabilizer. Consequently, as the window passes along the window stabilizer, the nylon bristles from the friction pad engage the window pane and prevent window rattling.
These previously known friction pads, however, have not proven wholly satisfactory in use. One disadvantage, of these previously known stabilizers, is that the nylon bristles attached to the adhesive strip on the friction pad frequently become loose and dislodged from the adhesive strip during the normal operation of the window. Consequently, after prolonged use of the window stabilizer, the bristles become worn away from the strip and thus no longer engage the window to prevent window rattling in the desired manner.
A still further disadvantage, of these previously known friction pads for window stabilizers, is that the adhesive on the friction pad inadequately or incompletely adheres to the face of the window stabilizer. When this happens, the entire friction pad can dislodge from its associated window stabilizer which renders the window stabilizer inoperative for its intended purpose. The friction pad which dislodges from its associated window stabilizer can also cause jamming of the window mechanism.